Obama said "special olympics."
“No, no, I have been practicing... I bowled a 129. It’s like - it was like the Special Olympics, or something.”
The first thing I have to say is, people make mistakes. President Obama, although he is our president, is a person, a human being, and people make mistakes!
Now I understand that there are some things that we say at home, or around those we are comfortable with, that we wouldn't say in the company of others. And while those words slipped between his teeth too easily, I honestly don't think he meant any harm by what he said.
I know that there are going to be a lot of people, groups, and organizations that take offense to what President Obama said. The sad part about all of it is while he has (or the White House) has issued a formal apology, I have no doubt that said offended groups and organizations are going to look to benefit from President Obama's mistake. I can't say how they will proceed in the next couple of days or weeks, but normally when something like this happens, those offended will try and take advantage of the situation, which doesn't make what they're doing any better than what he did.
While I'm still on my tangent here, I want to question what the President was doing on a late-night talk show. I do understand that President Obama is trying to be the President that's "one of us," but I still think that he should be held to a higher standard and shouldn't be on shows like The Jay Leno Show. I wouldn't mind reading an article or interview in a magazine about him, with a picture of him enjoying a beer in the White House "living room," but I wouldn't want to see a picture of him sitting first row at a basketball game, beer in hand. Does that make any sense?
I feel like I'm getting off topic and I only have one more thing to say: If that's the worst the he does in scheme of all the things he does as our President, well, I think he should be forgiven.
2 comments:
I didn't hear about this (though I'm sure I will) but I agree 100% with everything you said in this post.
Frankly, even as someone who has a dear friend who participates in the Special Olympics, I think it's silly to pretend that if someone else (not Obama) had said it, maybe at a backyard barbeque or something, we wouldn't all be laughing. Of course we would! It's not PC, but sometimes I get sick of PC. If you're not saying it to someone's face to hurt them, and there's no malice in your heart, then shouldn't you be allowed to make a joke every once in a while?
I would even put Obama's slip/joke in a different class than calling something "gay" or "retarded."
I agree that everyone makes mistakes. President Obama just seems to foul up a lot when he's not reading from a teleprompter. I don't expect him to be perfect, but it's like he can't talk on his own unless his speech is right in front of him. I think he's an excellent speaker, he's just not very good at impromptu and tends to say things that may ruffle some feathers. Hence, the Special Olympics comment. I personally don't think it's a big deal and didn't hear anything about it until now, but I can see why some people would be offended. I did, however, hear about him thanking himself on St. Patrick's Day while reading the Prime Minister of Ireland's speech on the teleprompter. That's a no brainier stupid mistake.
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